The US Federal Aviation Administration is taking a hard look at whether an estimated 26,000 instrument flight-capable GPS units on US general aviation aircraft are fit to handle an increasing number of area navigation (RNAV) routes and procedures being used by air traffic control.
The action comes as the regulator strives to incorporate RNAV lessons learned into navigation processes while harmonising its RNAV practices with those of the international community.
GA advocates, spearheaded by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, see the new guidance material as a de facto ban of many popular Garmin-built GPS units, including the GPS 155, GPS165, GNC 300, GPS 155XL and 300XL, and various Apollo GPS units, now owned by Garmin. Pilots are currently using that equipment not only to fly RNAV routes, but also as FAA-approved replacements for legacy automatic direction finder and distance measuring equipment.
The FAA says pilots can continue using all IFR-certificated GPS systems, as before, while the review continues. At issue in some cases are GPS units that can not automatically execute leg transitions, or limitations that prevent the pilot from selecting an arrival or departure procedure by name, elements required under the new FAA advisory.
Source: Flight International
